Betimes

This is another old-time word that you can still occasionally hear around Ocracoke village.. betimes. It means "early."

Betimes seems to have become common in the 13th century in England, but it is seldom heard today.

Several days ago a reader mentioned the Thrush Green novels by Miss Read (Dora Saint). I have not yet read any of them, but I understand they are set in a small village in southern England, and I am told the author uses the word "betimes."

Also, you will find the word in 2 Chronicles 36:15, in the  King James Version of the Bible: "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place."

Rise up betimes, and take a stroll along the beach. You will probably experience a beautiful sunrise, and you might even find a scotch bonnet.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Part II of Crystal Canterbury's account of her first visit to Portsmouth Island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052115.htm.

One of the Most Mischievous and Vilest Villains

On 14 July, 1719, Capt. Ellis Brand of HMS Lyme penned a letter to the Lords of Admiralty. In it he referenced William Howard, quartermaster to Blackbeard the Pirate who many believe was the same William Howard who later became colonial owner of Ocracoke Island, as "one of the most mischievous, vilest villains that had infested that coast.” Author Kevin Duffus (Looking Glass Productions) photographed these two pages of the letter at the British Archives at Kew, and graciously offered to allow me to post them here.

Here is my best transcription of the relevant passage:

I having on board my Ship a pyrate that I had some time before taking up which knew this fellow when he was Quartermaster in Tachs Ship of forty guns call’d the Queen Anns Revenge, and he being allow’d to be a good Evidence I did desire of the Governor that this Quartermaster might be brought to Tryal, which he concented to and there being publick Notice of it several appeared against him, and it was made appear to the Court that he was One of the Most Mischevious and Vileist Villians that had infested that coast; he was found guilty and receiv’d sentence of Death Accordingly and his life is only owing to the Ships Arrival that had his Majesties pardon on board, the night before he was to have been exicuted; ....

Ellis Brand 

In the interest of  providing some balance to the legacy of my probable ancestor, Kevin added this comment in his email to me: "I’m sure that William Howard was not so vile. Mischievous maybe, but not vile. At some point I hope to remember where I read that Howard had traveled to the Bahamas to testify on behalf of a physician forced into piracy by Blackbeard."

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Part II of Crystal Canterbury's account of her first visit to Portsmouth Island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052115.htm.

The Curlicue

As nearly everyone knows, Wilbur and Orville Wright, bicycle enthusiasts and remarkable innovators, accomplished the first controlled, powered, sustained heavier-than-air flight, on December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The Wright brothers hailed from Dayton, Ohio, but traveled to the Outer Banks because the wind and terrain were more suitable for their flight experiments. You might think that soaring above the ground (even at just 10 feet of altitude) was a dangerous undertaking, but simply getting to Kitty Hawk in the first years of the 20th century was quite risky, as Wilbur's September, 1900, journal illustrates. A few excerpts:

"At 4:30 left for Eliz. City and put up at the Arlington where I spent several days waiting for a boat to Kitty Hawk. No one seemed to know anything about the place or how to get there. At last on Tuesday afternoon I engaged passage with Israel Perry on his fiat-bottom schooner fishing boat [the Curlicue]."

"The [skiff that took Wilbur to the fishing boat] leaked very badly and frequently dipped water, but by constant bailing we managed to reach the schooner in safety. The weather was very fine with a light west wind blowing. When I mounted the deck of the larger boat I discovered at a glance that it was in worse condition if possible than the skiff. The sails were rotten, the ropes badly worn and the rudderpost half rotted off, and the cabin so dirty and vermin-infested that I kept out of it from first to last."

"The boat was quite unfitted for sailing against a head wind owing to the large size of the cabin, the lack of load, and its flat bottom. The waves which were now running quite high struck the boat from below with a heavy shock and threw it back about as fast as it went forward. The leeway was greater than the headway. The strain of rolling and pitching sprung a leak and this, together with what water came over the bow at times, made it necessary to bail frequently."

"In a severe gust the foresail was blown loose from the boom and fluttered to leeward with a terrible roar. The boy and I finally succeeded in taking it in though it was rather dangerous work in the dark with the boat rolling so badly."

"[There was] another roaring of the canvas as the mainsail also tore loose from the boom, and shook fiercely in the gale. The only chance was to make a straight run over the bar under nothing but a jib, so we took in the mainsail and let the boat swing round stern to the wind. This was a very dangerous maneuver in such a sea but was in some way accomplished without capsizing."

You can read the entire journal entry here:  http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/Wright_Story/Inventing_the_Airplane/Off_on_Adventure/Off_on_Adventure.htm.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Part II of Crystal Canterbury's account of her first visit to Portsmouth Island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052115.htm.

Exchange Students

Over the last 25 years Ocracoke School has had a number of foreign exchange students. They came to us from Japan, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, Thailand, and Columbia. Ocracoke Island students have studied in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Romania, Austria, and Ghana.

Pictured below (from l. to r.), with former Ocracoke School teacher Karen Lovejoy (herself a high school exchange student to Germany) are four of our foreign exchange students: Amy Howard (Germany), Emma Lovejoy (Denmark & Ghana), Molly Lovejoy (Austria), and Caroline Temple (Romania).

When Emma was living and studying in Ghana she met Esuon.They fell in love, he recently moved to the US, and they are now planning a fall wedding. Last week the Karen Lovejoy/Dave Frum family welcomed Esuon to Ocracoke with an outdoor potluck dinner at their home.

Potluck at the Lovejoy/Frum Home

L. to R.: Karen, Dave, Esuon, Emma, & Molly

Emma & Esuon

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Part II of Crystal Canterbury's account of her first visit to Portsmouth Island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052115.htm.

Ocracoke Art

It is always fun to see plein air painters on Ocracoke. The other day I noticed a young artist on the corner of NC12 & British Cemetery Road (near the Harborside Motel). He was busily working on a painting of the two hexagonal buildings where Island Golf Carts and WOVV are located.

I stopped to chat for a few minutes. The artist was Mark Hunter Brown, a native North Carolinian who now lives in Chicago. In addition to showing his work in Chicago, Mark has also exhibited in Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, and Italy.

Here is a painting he made a couple of days ago, of the Wilma Lee.

You can see more of Mark's paintings, and read more about him, on his web site: http://markhunterbrown.com/home.html.

I also understand that Mark will be spending most of the summer on the island...and he will be playing William Howard in this year's production of A Tale of Blackbeard! 

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Part II of Crystal Canterbury's account of her first visit to Portsmouth Island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052115.htm.

Firemen's Ball

The tenth annual Ocracoke Firemen’s Ball will be held tomorrow, Saturday, May 23, at the Ocracoke Community Center.

The event (the major fund raiser for the fire department) begins at 5 p.m. with a pig pickin’ followed by a silent and a live auction. The evening ends with live music by The Ocracoke Rockers, The Aaron Caswell Band, and The Dune Dogs.

Bidding for Great Items & to Support OVFD

This is the schedule of events:

5:00 – 6:30 Barbeque dinners @ $12.00 each
5:00 – 6:30 Silent auction (also, Firemen’s Ball t-shirts for sale)
7:00 Live Auction
8:30 -Midnight Music and Dancing

More information here and here. 

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Part II of Crystal Canterbury's account of her first visit to Portsmouth Island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052115.htm.

May Newsletter

We have just published our latest Ocracoke Newsletter, Part II of Crystal Canterbury's account of her first visit to Portsmouth Island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052115.htm. If you haven't read Part I, no worry. There is a link to Part I at the beginning of the article.

Enjoy!

Friends of Portsmouth Island

The Friends of Portsmouth Island held their spring membership meeting Saturday, May 16, at the Ocracoke Community Center. Several dozen people attended. Many were able to trace their ancestry to historic Portsmouth Island families.

The meeting commenced after a delicious and nutritious brunch provided by various members. After the secretary's and treasurer's reports, James White presented a plaque to Ken Burke in recognition of his contributions to the history of Portsmouth.

James White & Kenneth Burke

Ken Burke discovered Portsmouth in the 1950s, and immediately fell in love with the island, the village, and the people. In 1958 Ken wrote about Portsmouth as his honors thesis for a degree in history from the University of Richmond. It is titled The History of Portsmouth, North Carolina From Its Founding in 1753 to Its Evacuation in the Face of Federal Forces in 1861.

As James White explained, this was the first, and continues to be one of the most important documents chronicling the history of this unique island community. Ken Burke's text can be accessed on the web at  http://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1410&context=honors-theses.

After the presentation, Glenn and Brenda White shared stories and photos documenting their time as National Park Service volunteers in Portsmouth Village.

The next Portsmouth Island Homecoming is scheduled for April 30, 2016. 

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

The Paraguay

The 242' freighter, S. S. Paraguay, was built in 1900 to carry ore on the Great Lakes. Shortly thereafter, the Paraguay was converted to an oil tanker, plying the sea lanes in the North Atlantic Ocean. 

S.S. Paraguay, Courtesy M.W. Kates.(http://www.fleetsheet.com)

On December 4, 1927, the Paraguay (recently renamed the Kysikos) encountered a punishing gale off shore of the Outer Banks. While working the pumps in an effort to keep the embattled ship afloat, several crewmen were washed overboard by a huge wave. Early in the morning of the next day the Paraguay was driven ashore just north of Kitty Hawk. In spite of the weather, rescuers from the Kitty Hawk Life Saving Station managed to launch a life boat, and succeeded in rescuing the remaining 24 crew members.

While rehabilitating my house I discovered the following account of the Paraguay in a 1927 newspaper clipping laid down under the linoleum:

"Beachcomber Pays $100 for Wrecked ship And Expects to Realize $65,000 From It

"Underwriters of a Greek tank ship named Paraguay, which went ashore off Kitty hawk, N. C., during a storm on Dec. 4, have sold for $100 a property which is expected to yield the present owner more than $65,000.

"One of the beachcombers, who makes a practice of buying wrecks for such stores aboard as may be salvaged, paid $100 for the Paraguay. He took off wireless apparatus and stores worth $4,500 and sold the rest of the hulk to dealers in Norfolk, Va., for $1,500 or more.

"The wreck is laden with 800,000 gallons of fuel oil, and the beachcomber expects to sell this for $60,000. The former owners of the Paraguay lose nothing, since they were insured.

"Two men were lost off the Paraguay when she struck the beach. The tanker broke in half almost as soon as she hit, but the cargo section is intact and the oil still aboard. The salvager expects to have no trouble beaching the cargo."

According to Minor Kates, Jr. on his web site (http://www.fleetsheet.com/paraguay.htm), "the Kyzikos [the Paraguay] rests just offshore of Kill Devil Hills at Mile Marker 7. This site is very popular with scuba divers."

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

Salt

Amy loaned me her copy of Mark Kurlansky's 2002 book, Salt. It was fascinating to learn how important and valuable salt has been in the history of the world. And that got me to wondering...were there ever attempts to harvest or produce salt in eastern North Carolina? This is what I discovered in David Stick's book, The Outer Banks of North Carolina:

• In September, 1775, the Provincial Congress offered a bounty of 750 pounds "to any person who shall erect and build proper works for Manufacturing common Salt on the sea shore."
• Two ventures were begun in the Beaufort, NC, area, one designed to flood coastal areas and produce salt by solar evaporation, the other producing salt by boiling salt water in large vats.
• Heavy rains thwarted one operation; the drowning of the operator terminated the other venture.
• The wreck of the Success (sailing from Bermuda to North Carolina) in January, 1788, and loss of her cargo of salt, was of great concern because there had been an acute shortage of salt in North Carolina since the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.
• In September, 1776, delegates from the North Carolina Council of Safety wrote to the delegates to the Congress in Philadelphia that, "It is impossible for us to describe the distressed Situation of this State for the want of Salt. The Inhabitants in general say only let them have that article and they will fight so long as they have Existence, in support of the just rights of their Country. Without it, themselves, Families and stocks must perish."
• Benjamin Franklin then made available pamphlets on "making Salt by Sun Evaporation or by Culinary fire."
• After this information was distributed on the Outer Banks, it was reported that "The Humour of Salt boiling seems to be taking place here....Every Old Wife is now scouring her pint pot for the necessary operation."

Salt was an important product that was used to cure fish and ham. Without it, eighteenth century Outer Banks sustenance and commerce was in serious jeopardy. Luckily, abundant salt water and Ben Franklin's pamphlet saved the day!

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm. 

What's With These Road Names?

While driving around Ocracoke Village you may have noticed the intersection of Ocean View Road and Old Beach Road.

These two roads are surrounded by houses, cedars,and other thick vegetation. There is certainly no view of the ocean...nor are they on, or even near, the beach. You may wonder, What gives?

The answer to the question lies in the history and geology of Ocracoke Island. Before NC Highway 12 was built in 1957, the area between the village and the National Park Service campground was three miles of barren tidal flats...sand, shells, and hardly a blade of sea grass. During high tides, ocean overwash inundated the flats.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the National Park Service and the State of North Carolina decided to protect the new highway by building a continuous row of artificial dunes between NC12 and the Atlantic Ocean. Over the years vegetation took root on the dunes and the sound-side flats (islanders have always called that area The Plains). First it was just grasses. Then came yaupons and myrtles, and later cedars. Today, even pines and a few oaks are starting to grow there.

Where once the beach extended as far as the Thurston House B&B (my dad said islanders thought Thurston Gaskill was crazy to build his house "on the edge of the beach"), then retreated to where the Variety Store is located, the "bald beach" is now contained by the ocean-side dune ridge.

So, 75 years ago you could see the ocean from Ocean View Road, and Old Beach Road was a sand track that would take you right across the Plains to the surf.

And now you know.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

Senators & Pirates

As regular readers of this blog probably already know, I enjoy words and their origins...and I especially enjoy obscure words that relate to Ocracoke, or in today's case, pirates. I recently learned that the English word, freebooter (one who pillages and plunders, especially a pirate), derives from the Dutch words vrij (meaning free) + buiter (meaning booty). The French have a cognate,  fribustier or flibustier; and the Spanish have filibustero.   

In the mid-19th century a "filibuster" came to mean a meddler or troublemaker, especially a US citizen who interfered in the affairs of Central American nations. For example, William Walker (1824-1860) has been described as an "adventurer, filibuster, and revolutionary leader who succeeded in making himself president of Nicaragua (1856–57)."*

Of course, a filibuster also came to mean a long, windy senatorial speech intended to thwart passage of specific legislation. Regardless of your political persuasion (and I write this not to provoke partisan politics, but as interesting trivia related to Ocracoke and pirates!), you may be amused to discover that the word filibuster is related to pirates and senators.

You can read more about the word filibuster here: http://www.merriam-webster.com/blog/how-senators-are-like-pirates.htm.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm. 

* http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/634642/William-Walker

Distemper

Most of us, when we hear the word "distemper," think of an infectious disease that afflicts dogs. Canine distemper is caused by an unidentified virus that manifests in lethargy, fever, excessive discharge of mucus in the nose & throat, intolerance of light, and vomiting.

But, if you happen to pay a visit to the Ocracoke Health Clinic, you may hear an older island native in the waiting area comment that he or she is there to see the doctor for distemper. Knowing the local doctor is not a veterinarian, you finally figure out that the person sitting next to you is talking about his/her own illness.

"Distemper" is an eighteenth century word that simply meant any illness or disease. While the definition of the word has been narrowed today to refer almost exclusively to an illness afflicting dogs (and sometimes cats and horses), a few old-time Ocracokers still use the word in its older, more general sense.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm. 

"Shipwreck"

Just a couple of days ago I was told about a small boat that washed up on Ocracoke's beach. Of course I wanted to see for myself.

The fiberglass boat was quite a derelict. It certainly looked like it had been adrift for a while. The motor was long gone, the paint was peeling, the hull was cracked & broken, and small mollusks were growing all over the bottom. I suppose it was pushed onto Ocracoke's beach by the wind and waves generated by tropical depression Ana.

I wonder who will remove it.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm. 

British Cemetery

In the spring of 1942, the British Navy sent 24 armed trawlers to the east coast of the United States to augment the fleet of the US Navy in WWII.

On May 11, 1942, the captain of the German U-boat, U-558, fired three torpedoes at the British armed trawler, Bedfordshire. The third torpedo struck the vessel amidships with devastating results. The ship sank within minutes, killing everyone on board.

The bodies of four British sailors washed ashore at Ocracoke, and were laid to rest near the Capt. David Williams cemetery. Every year since then, the US Coast Guard, British & Canadian military officials, and local Outer Banks organizations honor the crew of the Bedfordshire and other sailors who lost their lives protecting the United States from Nazi aggression.

Samantha Styron Reading History of the Bedfordshire's Sinking

This year the commemorative event was held on Friday, May 8, at 11:00 am.

US Coast Guard Pipe Band

You can read more about the British Cemetery ceremonies in the Ocracoke Current and the Ocracoke Observer.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

Portsmouth Trivia

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is about Crystal Canterbury's first visit to Portsmouth Village (see the link at the bottom of this post).

Photo by Crystal Canterbury

Here are a few tidbits of information about Portsmouth (from David Stick's book, The Outer Banks of North Carolina:

• Portsmouth, unlike Ocracoke and other Outer Banks communities, was a planned town.
• Portsmouth town was laid out in half-acre lots, with designated streets.
• Town lots were sold for 20 shillings in the mid-1700s.
• John Tolson purchased the first lot on February 12, 1756 (members of the Tolson family live on Ocracoke to this day).
• Fort Granville was built on Portsmouth. It was garrisoned in 1758.
• On a 1775 map showing the Outer Banks, only one road is depicted. It extended from Portsmouth to Core Banks.
• Population of Portsmouth in 1800 was 246.
• An academy was established on Portsmouth by 1806.
• Population in 1810 was 387.
• In 1836-1837 more than 1,400 vessels passed through Ocracoke Inlet.
• In 1846 the federal government established a marine hospital on Portsmouth.
• In 1866 The Excelsior Oil and Guano Company established a menhaden processing plant on Portsmouth.
• Between 1876 & 1885 a US Weather Bureau Station was located on Portsmouth.
• Portsmouth also had a US Life-Saving/Coast Guard Station from the late 1800s to WWII.
• Population in 1850 was 505.
• Population today is 0. 

 Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

Island People, Inselmenschen

In 2000 the Trustees of Boston University published a coffee-table book of photographs by German photographer, Ulrich Mack. Titled Island People, Inselmenschen, Mack's book is a bi-lingual photographic study of the similarities between the people and culture of Harkers Island, North Carolina, and Pellworm, an island in the North Sea, in Nordfriesland District of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

I have not been able to contact Ulrick Mack to ask for permission to publish a couple of his photos, but I did find this YouTube video of Herr Mack discussing his book and the pictures.


Even though the audio is in German, you will be able to see the remarkable similarities between Harkers Island and Pellworm. They are striking.

The YouTube description under the video says "From November 17, 2007, in the Grassi Museum for Ethnology in Leipzig, Ulrich Mack will exhibit his study of the similarities between two north Atlantic island cultures: Pellworm (Nordfriesland) and Harkers Island (North Carolina)."

I believe the book is no longer in print, but it can be purchased on-line for about $25.00. One reviewer had this to say about the book: "Powerful imagery. Inspiring photography. A treasure of times past. The similarities of Island People from a German Island and a United States Island is unbelievable."

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

Old Newspapers

In 2005, when I rehabilitated my grandparents' island house, I discovered a number of yellowed, brittle newspapers under the linoleum that had been laid down on the floors. I salvaged various articles and advertisements, most from 1928, 1945, & 1948. Just the other day I found them in a picture album.

Here is a sample of what I discovered:

• A "stubborn cough" can be cured by drinking a mixture of sugar or honey and creosote (1928).
• These ailments can all be cured with various treatments and ointments available for sale:
• Varicose Veins (Relieved "At Once")
• Whiskey or Drug Habit (Cured Forever)
• Asthma (Stopped or No Pay!)
• Vision problems (No Glasses Needed)
• Bunions ("Gone in Days")
• The "New Easy Spindrier" (No old-fashioned wringing) can be purchased for $189.95.
• "Ambitious Girls" can make $23 for a 40-hour work week, as telephone operators.
•  Railroad Engineers made average annual earnings of $3,965 in 1939.
• A ten-year-old Plymouth convertible (new paint, rebuilt engine) could be had for $595 in 1949.
• In 1928 Beatrice Fuller (a "white girl" who is "a descendant of the Mayflower pilgrims") married Clarence Kellem ("a mulatto") in Connecticut, in spite of threats and protests (including "a flaming cross on a high hill"). 
• On May 8, 1948, Methodists adopted a "Resolution Aimed at End of Racial Segregation in Southern Churches."
• A seven-year-old boy is "healthy and happy" in spite of having his heart in the right side of his chest.
• Goldfish swim fastest in "Mildly Warm Water."

Remember, I am publishing these tidbits as a glimpse into history, and into the news available to islanders 65 to 85 years ago, not to provoke political rants. Please keep this in mind when posting comments.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

End of an Era

Many visitors to Village Craftsmen will remember the red gypsy wagon. For a while it was displayed next to the shop. In more recent years it was parked behind the Village Craftsmen, but visible from Howard Street. I built it about 35 years ago, and it was used for various artistic and creative endeavors, as well as temporary housing for family & friends.

The gypsy wagon sported a number of decorative features, including s Dutch door, brass lanterns, etched glass windows, and painted-yellow curlicues. The interior was compact, but comfortable, and was decorated with silk curtains and tassels.

Unfortunately, the ravages of time, water damage, and termites resulted in so much rotted wood and a completely rusted frame, that the gypsy wagon was no longer useable, so I decided to dismantle it. To save the gypsy wagon would have entailed more work than building it in the first place. And I decided it was better to have it removed than to watch it slowly disintegrate. As a friend once remarked, nothing lasts forever.

Nevertheless, many islanders and visitors will have fond memories of the gypsy wagon, a unique contribution to the sometimes unusual experience of life on Ocracoke Island.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

Passenger Ferries

According to the NCDOT Ferry Division, the Provincetown III, a catamaran-style passenger ferry will visit the Outer Banks today and tomorrow, May 4-5, The Ferry Division says it could be a glimpse into the future of a new type of ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke. During that visit, NCDOT Ferry Division officials will be offering members of the public a chance to tour the ship for themselves and provide valuable feedback as they study the idea of passenger service between the two villages.

The ship will conduct sea trials today and tomorrow, and will be available for inspection today on Hatteras. Tomorrow the ship will conduct further sea trials, then dock at Silver Lake Harbor in Ocracoke.

Members of the public will be allowed to tour the ship between 4-7 p.m., while the Ferry Division conducts an open house meeting between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Ocracoke School gymnasium.

"This is the public's ferry system, and establishment of passenger ferry service would be a significant change to that system," said Ferry Division Director Ed Goodwin. "We hope that people will turn out to take a look at the ship and give us any feedback they have on any aspect of this idea."

NCDOT has hired the consulting firm Volkert to conduct a feasibility study on passenger ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands as an additional alternative (not a replacement) to the car ferries now running the route. The study is scheduled to be completed by December, 2015.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.

Ocracoke Night Life

If you are planning a vacation to Ocracoke this season, you have several opportunities to enjoy island night life. Mark your calendars now. On Wednesday evenings at 8 pm, beginning in June, there is always the delightful Ocracoke Opry at Deepwater Theater featuring local musicians (including our high-energy Molasses Creek band and other performers) and storytellers.

Another opportunity this year is a National Park Service program on "the night sky and naturally glowing marine life."

Milky Way by Craig Roberts

This NPS program is scheduled for every Wednesday from 05/27/2015 to 09/02/2015, at Ocracoke's Lifeguard Beach from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.